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Anticipation for the Journey

“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, at a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.” –James Madison

We are excited that our Appalachian Trail journey finally begins April 13th at Springer Mountain, Georgia. The weather forecasts show rain the first five days of our hike, (at least it isn’t snow, right?). A recent correspondence from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy stated the trail length this year is 2,189.2 miles. That is 9.2 miles more than we expected. Oh, well — merely a drop in the bucket at that point and a bit more beauty in nature to enjoy!

Much thanks to Erin at the Shelby Daily Globe for a wonderful article on the Hike for John in last Saturday’s edition. Mark from the Mansfield News Journal and Curt from Richland Source are writing articles for this week. Thanks to both! We will provide these fine reporters with updates and photos during our hike that they can share with their readers. So many folks are following our adventure and praying for us. What a wonderful community of friends! Words cannot express our appreciation and the support shown for the Gurney Family.

Our next post will be from Georgia after we step foot on the AT.
With Great Anticipation,  Chief and Toad

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Hike for John

We have had many visitors to the Chief and Toad blog, as well as those who plan to follow our progress on the Appalachian Trail.  Please check out the “Hike for John” page on the menu.  This is a fundraising opportunity to help  a very close friend of ours, John Gurney, who is fighting melanoma.

Right now, we are packing our backpacks and getting ready to head to Georgia in April.  We are following online other thru-hikers who have started hiking the trail and the weather conditions they have encountered.  It is still rather cool in the south, especially in the higher elevations.  Hopefully, we experience more mild temperatures when we begin.

More details to follow soon…